Monday, March 30, 2015

After my ninth
trip to Lao, it was time to get ready for the visit from my oldest son Das and his wife Jonnie,
who both live and work in California.

It was mid-December and getting cold, which meant that
comforters over the beds were mandatory and sweatshirts and jackets deployed in
the day and night times.

In several email messages, I sent them some suggestions on
what to bring and be prepared for. In the first email message I wrote:

The
weather when you arrive will be much like it is in Carpinteria and Santa Barbara in
August/September.

Bring
a light jacket, that's about it for cold weather gear. If you need more,
you can always buy here; stuff's pretty cheap.

Pack
as lightly as you can, so you can bring stuff back with you.

Sneakers
will be your best footwear. I do not advise wearing sandals both because
of the lack of traction (many slippery surfaces here, when you least
expect them) but also as bumpers to protect your feet when you bump up
against stuff.

Caps
are a good idea, to protect from the sun.

Mosquito
repellent is a must and should contain at least 13% DEET. I use a lotion
every evening and no adverse skin effects; I shower before going to bed.

If you
are not in an air-conditioned room when you go to bed, make sure you have
a mosquito net over your bed.

Bandaids
are also a must. Whenever you get a bruise, clean it thoroughly, let dry,
and then put a band-aid over it. Take the band-aid off when you go to bed;
put a new one on in the morning after a shower, if necessary.

Buy a
Lonely Planet travel guide. I believe they have one especially for the
southern ThaiIslands. This will
be better for you than buying one for Thailand, as the islands are
quite a bit different environment than the rest of the country. It's a
good investment and will provide stoke reading for you on the plane if not
also before, as well as help guide you when you're here.

You'll
have problems buying vegetarian dishes, believe it or not. We'll come up
with some phrases for you to use to request non-meat dishes.

I
haven't had problems buying fruit from unknown vendors.

You
will most likely get diarrhea at some point if not all the way thru your
trip, off and on. Don't worry about it.

Pay
increased attention to staying hydrated.

In a second email message I wrote:

it's
the coldest time of year, but you will be fine with packing sweat pants
and sweat shirt with hood.

jonnie,
a scarf always comes in handy.

don't
travel at night, unless you can't help it or you're with a large number of
people.

justice
and equality do not carry much weight here. if you feel you're not treated
fairly or ripped off, just keep it to yourselves and realize things are
cheap here, anyway, and you're on vacation.

do not
get angry. Thai's don't know how to handle it and it won't get you
anywhere.

there
is random stopping of foreigners and taking pee tests going on in Bangkok. if stopped,
comply and be polite and friendly.

we
have wifi, so bring your smartphones and laptop.

bring
sunglasses with cases.

on the
flight over, make sure you're in comfortable clothes. it is a very long
two flights.

I finished with a third email:

I
changed my mind about sandals. Bring a good pair. You'll be able to wear
them comfortably in the countryside and on the beaches.

Sneakers
are still best for you moving through areas of high population.

When
you're in populated areas, keep your eyes on the walking surface ahead of
you. You'd be amazed how poor the sidewalks are, here, and downright
dangerous.

Pack
your sweats (pants and shirt) on top of everything in your suitcase.
You'll need to change into these when we pick you up at the Udon Thani
airport. It'll be a little bit of a cold ride back to the village.

Thip and I knew that Das and Jonnie would be spending the
bulk of their time in ThailandDown South, with a
little bit of Bangkok thrown
in, so we focused on having them experience what the Thai Countryside
lifestyle is all about.

(playing "Set")

First days, we ate and partied with our Thai-Lao
family, both at our village home and out at Bann
Nah, the site of our new home under construction in the middle of our
larger of two rice farms.

A visit to our temple and meeting Lungpaw
took place about mid-way through the five days we had together.

We wrapped-up their stay with a trip to the Mekong at Khaeng
Khut Khu and a visit to the cave Buddha at Erawan.

It was great to see my oldest son and his wife, again. Das and I have been very close for most
all our lives. My retirement on the other side of the planet has caused a bit
of an unavoidable drift. So, to see him again, here in my new life in The Isaan
was super special.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

I decided to leave Lao a little earlier than planned. I was
anxious to get back to the Bann Nah
project. There’s so much more you can do at home. When you’re travelling,
you see a lot and meet different people, but I’m a task-oriented
person. I like to get stuff done, not just look around.

So, I had my favorite tuk-tuk driver Lou take me to
Pak Lai’s southern bus station around 9am. En route, he told me when I come
back, he’ll take me out of town to “see beautiful girl,” which I interpret as
there being some bars with bar
girls outside Pak Lai.

On the ride south to Ken Thao, I counted myself fortunate
not to have run into Nuey. Had she
even come to Pak Lai to meet me? Probably not and probably I’ll never know.

At Heun
Phair, yesterday, before I met Duangtar and his
students, I got a great shot of a long tail family motoring by.
After that, and after Duangtar and his students had left, and after I shot
footage of the moon rise, I called Nuey one more time, when “our song” was
playing on the karaoke machine. I just let the song play for about 20 seconds,
then rang off.

Will I ever see her again? Probably not. Will I ever hear
from her again? There’s always that possibility. Will I initiate contact again?
Doubtful. If she knew a little English, it would still be pretty hopeless, but
there’d be a better chance of becoming friends because we could communicate
without third person interference.

At the border, I stopped in at the Lao-side market, bought
Thip some T-shirts, had a Beer
Lao dark, then bought a case of it, arranging transport across the border.
I did not realize it at the time, but they actually smuggled it across for me,
taking the bottles out of the box, distributing them in covered bags, and the
box broken down. Hey, I could get fined for that! Oops, and they could go to
jail! Probably me, too.

The sawngtheaw ride from Tha Li to Loei and the bus
ride from Muang Loei to Nong Bua Lamphu both seem to get shorter and shorter
each time I take them.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Seyadeth’s
room #8 was a nice one, actually. South and facing onto the main Nasavang/Sisavang street
that runs along the Mekong, with houses on
each side of it. I could easily watch the everyday routines of some of my
neighbors from the second floor.

After my morning routines, I made my way over to the port
area restaurant, had a beer, and then made it over to the outdoor market for a
pear, chicken, sweet bread and iced coffee (“kafe yen”). I swung around to the
hill above Khoun
Ten, saw it quiet, so assumed it closed. Then, I went over to Heun Phair where
there was, surprisingly, some activity.

I was warmly received by the owner, whose name I still don’t
know. I had been attracted here, originally, back in 2012, by the music he
played, which leaned significantly toward the “Songs for Life” strain (Thai folk
songs). We patted each other on the back and it felt like coming back home.

There was only one other table occupied, but I got good
looks from the two girls there and the guy who was with them (Somneuk). I ordered my usual,
then let my mind drift along with the Mekong.

It looked as though I wouldn’t see Nuey/Kay Noi
this time; maybe never again, but I still wanted to. Even so, I hadn’t called
her from my Lao sim card, so if she was in the area, she wouldn’t have been
able to call me unless she remembered or noted my Lao number previously. That’s
kinda how it went. I wanted it to happen, but I didn’t do the extra little
things to make it happen because I increasingly felt it was a lost cause for a
number of reasons that I’ll share at a later date.

So, my face probably fell a lot as I drank my Beer Lao.

Later, at the end of the afternoon and a slightly older guy joined the other table, I
found out either K'Kong or Dao had called their teacher to
come join us, saying there was a sad Falang on the floater who needed some
cheering up. They proceeded to do that, the additional guy being their business
teacher who also emphasized the use of English in their classes.

Duangtar
is a really friendly,
fun guy, and now a friend of mine on Facebook, as is K'Kong, Dao and Somneuk. I was invited to their table of four and had a great time with
them; mostly helping them practiced their English.

In the early evening, a little after one other student joined us and then they left to eat dinner,
I stayed. I knew the moon would rise a little later than yesterday and wanted
to shoot some video of it from Mekong level. I
did that, although the results were not as good as I hoped.

Friday, March 13, 2015

On the way to the market, I walked by a big party going
strong, with singers and overflow seating onto the riverside road; probably
celebrating a marriage, birth or other family event. I was strongly invited to
come in and drink, but it was a table of all-guys and I knew how that would end
up. Anyway, I had my “Date with
Destiny” awaiting me; or maybe not.

I stopped in at the haircut shack that has now been taken
over by mostly younger guys and was well received. I remember only two years
ago, the barbers were in their 30s-40s and I wondered if I was putting my life
in their hands when they shaved me with a straight razor; I mean, maybe they
had a relative who was killed by an unexploded
American-made and dropped bomb (UXO)? Now, the barbers are in their early
20s, no straight razor shaves, just electric razor cuts; took my young barber
ten minutes to cut mine.

I walked to the outdoor market to get some eats and then
headed for Khoun
Ten. It was open, this time, but with only one group of Thais as customers.
I wasn’t even sure the floating bar/restaurant was really open or whether they
were just catering to the Thais as a special deal and allowed me on board as a
long-standing customer.

Seeing the lack of people, I kept thinking that something
must have happened while I’ve been away. Did the local authorities restrict
their operations in some way? Was this a seasonal low (don’t think so) or might
they be losing market share to the bigger,
newer floating bar/restaurant in Pak Lai?

At any rate, I had my usual: a 640 ml bottle of Beer Lao, a
bucket of ice and a glass to drink it all down with. As sad as I am to write
this, I must admit I almost breathed a sigh of relief that Nuey/Kay Noy
did not show up.

From my vantage point above, I could see and hear the action
going on, on the new and bigger floating bar/restaurant, so after a while, I
made my way down there.

It was big and friendly, but not as intimate as the smaller,
older places in PL2;
darker, too. So, not as easy to make eye contact and different levels to the
place made it difficult to see who might be singing karaoke. Customers seemed
to be aged 16-22 or thereabouts. Some gambling and drinking guys – also young –
were camped on the hillside in what looked like a regular hangout above the
floater. Inside, I got some friendly looks, but the layout hindered making
friendships. Next time I go, I’ll take the highest point of the barge so I can
see better, and try earlier in the day. It was already dark when I first
boarded.

After a bottle of Beer Lao and ice, I walked back to the
Seyadeth to get on my smartphone, thinking to do a video call to Thip. Here’s
where I found out the wifi signal wasn’t strong enough in the guest house and
that I would have to go to the restaurant if I wanted to get online.

In the Khem Khong, I was invited to a table of two Falang; two Canadian bicyclists
in their fifties (I guessed), who had been school chums together back in Vancouver. One guy seemed
pretty shy but nice; the other one had been in Southeast Asia on and off for 20
years and still talked bad about Asians. This always surprises me when I come
up upon it. I don’t understand travelling in countries if you don’t appreciate
their peoples.

It was a six beer day, stretched from 11am to 9pm, which
worked out to about .6 beers/hour.